The present invention relates to a bale handling device used to transport hay bales from the field to the storage yard and to unroll the haybales for feeding livestock.
Previous art describes various apparatus for lifting, transporting and unrolling cylindrical hay bales.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,184 issued on Jun. 28, 1977 to Calvin B. Blair describes a round bale loader attachment with forwardly extending parallel arms mounted for pivotal movement about their longitudinal axes permitting a semi-cradling of the bales. The bale is supported solely by being cradled in the parallel arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,049,140 issued on Sep. 20, 1977 to Gerald L. Roose describes a bale carrying and unrolling device for use with a three-point hitch. A horizontal cross bar frame has a pair of rearwardly extending arms pivotally mounted on the ends of the cross bar frame. The extending arms pivot and laterally adjust to vary the width of the space between the arms. The outer ends of the arms have inwardly directed tines on a circular gripping plate. The arms are pivoted out for releasing the hay bale by a hydraulic cylinder pivotally connected to one arm. The bale is supported solely by the inwardly directed tines.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,624 issued on May 23, 1978 to Vernon R. Krein and Lawrence D. Elmer describes an apparatus for transporting and unrolling cylindrical bales of hay including a frame mounted in the box of a pickup truck or on its own wheels. The apparatus has a pair of pivoting arms with pressure plates to grasp and release the bale axially. The bale is supported solely by the pressure plates.
Canadian Patent No. CA 1157433 issued on Nov. 22, 1983 to Kenneth G. Knight describes an apparatus to unroll round hay bales comprised of a frame with one fixed arm extending perpendicularly from one side of the frame and a hinged arm extending from the other side. Each arm has a bale engaging spike or prong which pierces the axis of the bale. The frame is attached to a three-point hitch. The hitch allows the bale to be elevated to clear the ground. To unroll the bale, the hitch is placed in the float position, the tractor moves forward and the bale rotates on the prongs and unrolls. The bale is supported solely by the bale engaging spikes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,770 issued on Apr. 23, 1996 to Thomas I. Burenga describes a hay handler and unroller apparatus with an improved clamp and bracket design to handle a wide range of bale lengths. A linear frame has pivoting clamp arms at its ends held by brackets and a mount for a three-point hitch in the middle. The clamp arms are reversible to provide for three possible ways to assemble the clamp arms and brackets to the frame. A pair of securing devices are attached at the frontal ends of the clamp arms to secure the bale of hay between the clamp arms. The bale is supported solely by the securing devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,392 issued Aug. 17, 1999 to Bernie H. Duck describes a spooled hay dispenser apparatus for unrolling spooled hay from a tractor. An upright locking bracket lets the operator pick up a roll of hay at the storage area, carry it to the feeding area and unroll it. The apparatus provides a slotted tube at the ends of and perpendicular to a cross bar for rotatably mounting spikes which hold a cylindrical hay bale. The bracket on the cross bar maintains the arms horizontally when the bale is almost completely unrolled to prevent gouging the ground surface. The bale is supported solely by the spikes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,041 issued on Jun. 10, 1986 to Dewey L. Hostetler describes a bale lift assembly for a flat bed truck with a pair of hugger arms which grip the hay bale and which rotate through an arc to lift round hay bales onto a flat bed truck. The bale is supported solely by teeth which are mounted on the hugger arms.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,413 issued on Jan. 21, 1992 to Clifford C. Grosz, Harvey N. Dak, Jeffrey Schilling and Martin N. Dak describes an apparatus for carrying hay bales for attachment to a front end loader, including a support frame with forwardly extending support arms for supporting a bale from underneath and forwardly extending gripping arms. The bale is supported from underneath by the support arms and on the sides by the gripping arms.
There remains a need for a simple bale handling device which is capable of carrying a cylindrical bale while supporting the bale on either side of its center of gravity.
The present invention relates to a simple apparatus to transport cylindrical hay bales around the farm. Preferably the apparatus may also be used to unroll bales for feeding livestock.
More particularly, the invention relates to a simple apparatus in which a bale is supported by a primary bale support on one side of its centre of gravity and by a secondary bale support on the other side of its centre of gravity.
More particularly, the invention relates to a bale handling device, the device comprising:
(a) a support beam, the support beam comprising a primary bale support, the support beam defining a closed end of a bale frame;
(b) a first arm connected with the support beam, the first arm defining a first side of the bale frame;
(c) a second arm connected with the support beam, the second arm defining a second side of the bale frame;
(d) a first bale engaging member connected with the first arm and projecting within the bale frame;
(e) a second bale engaging member connected with the second arm and projecting within the bale frame;
(f) an attachment mechanism for attaching the device to a vehicle such that the bale frame can be raised and lowered;
wherein the first bale engaging member and the second bale engaging member together comprise a secondary bale support and wherein the secondary bale support is located relative to the primary bale support such that when a bale is positioned within the bale frame a center of gravity of the bale is located between the primary bale support and the secondary bale support and such that when the bale frame is thereafter lifted the bale will be supported by both the primary bale support and the secondary bale support.
Preferably the first bale engaging member and the second bale engaging member are movable toward and away from each other to facilitate gripping and release of a bale. Any structure, apparatus or mechanism may be used to achieve this relative movement between the first bale engaging member and the second bale engaging member. For example, one or both of the first arm and the second arm may pivot relative to the support beam, or one or both of the bale engaging members themselves may extend and retract relative to the first arm and the second arm.
Preferably at least one of the first arm and the second arm is slidably connected with the support beam so that the first bale engaging member and the second bale engaging member are movable toward and away from each other while maintaining the first arm and the second arm substantially parallel to each other. In the preferred embodiment both of the arms are slidably connected with the support beam so that both of the arms are movable.
The arms may be slidably connected with the support beam in any manner. For example, the arms may be retained in grooves or slots in the support beam. Preferably, however, the arms are telescopically connected with the support beam.
The movement of the first bale engaging member and the second bale engaging member toward and away from each other may be controlled in any manner which is compatible with the particular mechanism selected for achieving this result. For example, the movement of the arms or the bale engaging members may be controlled manually or may be controlled pneumatically, hydraulically or electrically.
Preferably the movement of the first arm relative to the second arm is controlled hydraulically by at least one hydraulic cylinder associated with at least one of the arms.
In the preferred embodiment, both of the first arm and the second arm are slidably connected with the support beam and movement of the first bale engaging member and the second bale engaging member toward and away from each other is controlled by a first hydraulic cylinder associated with the first arm and a second hydraulic cylinder associated with the second arm.
Preferably the support beam is comprised of a hollow beam member, wherein the first arm is comprised of a first arm connecting member, wherein the second arm is comprised of a second arm connecting member, and wherein the first arm connecting member and the second arm connecting member are telescopically received within the hollow beam member.
Preferably the device is further comprised of wear strip material positioned between the first arm connecting member and the hollow beam member and positioned between the second arm connecting member and the hollow beam member. Preferably the wear strip material is replaceable in order to extend the life of the connecting members and the hollow beam member.
The attachment mechanism may be comprised of any structure, apparatus or mechanism which will facilitate raising and lowereing of the bale frame. Preferably the attachment mechanism is associated with the support beam. Preferably the attachment mechanism is adapted for attachment of the device to a hitch on a vehicle, which may either be self-propelled or towed.
In the preferred embodiment the attachment mechanism is adapted for attachment to a hitch which can be raised or lowered, such as a three point hitch of the type commonly found on tractors and other farm equipment.
The bale engaging members may be comprised of any structure, apparatus or mechanism which will engage a bale and thus function as the secondary bale support. For example, the bale engaging members may be comprised of teeth or some other surface on the first and second arms.
The bale engaging members may be connected at any location on the arms and may extend along all or a portion of the length of the arms. Preferably the bale engaging members are located at distal ends of the arms relative to the points of connection of the arms to the support beam.
In the preferred embodiment the first bale engaging member is comprised of a first bale piercing spear and the second bale engaging comprised of a second bale piercing spear. The bale piercing spears may be fixedly connected with the arms or they may be rotatably connected with the arms. In the preferred embodiment the first bale piercing spear is fixedly connected with the first arm and the second bale piercing spear is fixedly connected with the second arm.
The support beam may be comprised of any structure which will facilitate connection of the arms thereto and which will function as the primary bale support. For example, the support beam may be comprised of a member of any shape, including in the preferred embodiment a simple hollow beam member. The primary bale support may therefore be comprised of an exterior surface on the hollow beam member.
Preferably the exterior surface of the support beam is comprised of a planar primary support surface so that the primary bale support is comprised of the planar primary support surface. A planar primary support surface is preferred because it may serve to distribute the weight of a bale more effectively than a primary bale support comprised solely of an exterior surface on the support beam. The planar primary support surface may be comprised of a planar surface on the support beam, such as a planar exterior surface on a square hollow beam member.
In the preferred embodiment the planar primary support surface is comprised of a primary support plate. Preferably the primary support plate is connected with the support beam and preferably the primary support plate is centrally located on the support beam.